Improvement in bed-lounges



HQ RICHTER. Bed-Lounges.

No. 200,845. Patented March 5,1878.

N.FEIERS, FHOTO-LITNOGRAPHER, WASHINGTON D UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

HERMAN RICHTER, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT IN BED-LOUNGES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 200,845, dated March 5, 1878; application filed August 11, 1876.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HERMAN Rroncrnn, of Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Bed-Lounges, of which the following is afull, clear, and exact description, which will enable others skilled in the art to which my invention appertains to make and use the said improvements, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part hereof, and in whic Figure l is a perspective view of the lounge unfolded, with. the upholstering removed, and the movement of the several parts indicated by dotted lines; Fig. 2, a detail perspective View of the several parts of the folding leg; Fig. 3, an inverted plan view of the frame of the head or bolster of the lounge, showing the locking devices attached thereto; and Figs. 4, 5, 6, and 7 are detail views of the dinerent hinges connecting the several parts of the lounge.

Like letters of reference indicate like parts.

In the drawings, A represents the frame of the body of the lounge; B, the frame of the folding seat, and .C the frame of the head or bolster. D is the frame of the seat-extension. These frames may be made in any suitable and convenient manner. They are arranged together substantially as shown and hereinafter described, and are adapted to receive and operate in connection with the parts hereinafter referred to. Y

E and E are hinges, by means of which the seat and body are connected to each other. The hinge E is bent near its joint, as shown at a, so as to carry the seat over properly when it is folded upon the body, and is provided with a strap or arm, e, to admit of its being fastened to the body. It is also provided with the forked part or arms e and e", to adapt it to embrace and admit of its being fastened to one of the rails or bars of the seatframe. The hinge E is attached to the foot of the lounge, and is bent, as shown, near its joint, so that the pivot will lie in the center on which the seat turns, while the hinge straps or arms may be attached to the foot rails or bars without extending above them. There are no center or meeting rails between the seat and the body of the lounge.

The head or bolster is connected to the body by means of the hinges G G. These hinges consist of the forked and inclined parts 9 g and of the straps or arms g, the latter being pivoted to the former. The parts 9 g are arranged to embrace the crossbar at the head of the frame A, and theparts g g are attached to the frame 0, the joints of the hinges being near the central parts of the sides of the head or bolster, and sufficiently above the frame A to admit of the scat being folded upon the body, and of the head or bolster being folded upon the seat-frame when the latter is closed.

The head or bolster, when unfolded or thrown back, forms an inclined head or bolster when the lounge is used as a bed, and the proper inclination is preserved, for the reason that the bolster then rests against the upper end or head of the body of the lounge.

H is a bolt or catch applied to the frame C to retain the folded or closed bolster in place, and a socket or mortise is made in the upper end or head of the seat-frame to receive this bolt, as represented by the broken lines at h.

Various means may be employed to render the bolt H capable of being operated with facility.

I is a folding seat-extension. This part is connected to the upper end of the seat by means of the hinges J J. These hinges consist of the base-pieces 1' land of the extensions 6 i. The extensions t" z" are flanged, as shown at i t, and are pivoted to shoulders or projections extending from the parts 2' 2', as shown. 3' j are pins or rests for supporting the parts 'i i at a proper inclination. The parts z i are secured to the seat-frame, and the extensions i t" are fastened to the seat-extension by means of screws or other fastenings passing through holes or perforations in the flanges t i.

K K are the legs for supporting the unfolded seat. These legs consist of the baseplates is k, the leg-extensions k k, and the disks k k The plates k k are rigidly attached to the edge of the seat, and arranged in the positions indicated in Fig. 1. Two pins, 1 1, project from the outer faces of the plates 70 70, one pin lying in a line passing horizontally across the central part of the plates, and the other in a vertical line passing across the central part of the plates, as shown in Fig.2. The

leg-extensions are vertically slotted, as shown at m. The rear face of the upper ends of the parts k k are sunken or recessed, as represented in Fig. 2. A rivet, n, passes through the base-piece, the disk k, and also through the slot m. o is a rubber block arranged in the slot m. Any other spring, however, will perform the functions of this block, as will hereinafter more fully appear.

The lounge is upholstered, so as to render it comfortable while it is being used as such. It will be perceived from the foregoing description that the head or bolster folds upon the folded seat. By this means the upholstered part of the head may be made to overlap the upholstered part of the seat-that is to say, the padded or cushioned parts of the seat and head fill or nearly fill the depression usually existing between these parts, thus rendering the lounge unusually comfortable. This result is obtained with facility, for the reason that in constructing the lounge provision is made to admit of the head or bolster being folded upon or over the upper end of the seat, or, in other words, in adapting the seat to be folded first and the head afterward, so that the pad or cushion on the latter may be formed to prevent the depression referred to. The parts exposed when the seat, seat-extension, and head are unfolded are also padded or stuffed, and the fabric which forms the covering of this padding or stuffing extends con tinuously from the head and seat-extension along the body and seat, respectively. By this means the lounge, when used as a bed, is rendered soft and comfortable at the junction of the head and seat-extension with the parts to which they are applied. It will also be perceived that the seat-extension folds to and from the upper end of the seat.

In order to fold up the legs K K, the parts k k are pushed or drawn downward until the pin Zis released from the lower notch in the rear face of the upper part of the leg. The leg may then be turned horizontally, and when the notch referred to reaches the pin l the spring 0 will cause this pinto enter the notch, it being understood that the spring rests against the upper end of the slot m and against the rivet 12. By this means the legs are locked either in a vertical or horizontal position, but may be unlocked and differently adjusted with facility.

I am aware that, with the exception of the spring 0, folding legs have heretofore been made substantially like the one herein shown and described, and therefore I do not here intend to claim the same. broadly; but,

Having thus described my invention what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Iietters Patent, is-

1. The combination,in a bed-lounge, of the hinges E and E, constructed as herein specified, and arranged as shown and described with relation to each other, the body, and the folding seat, for the purposes set forth.

2. The combination, in a bed-lounge, of the tilting head or bolster and the hinges G G, the latter constructed and arranged substantially as specified, to support the head above and on the folded seat.

3. The combination, in a bed-lounge, of the seat-extension I, hinged to the upper end of the folding seat by means of the hinges J J, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as and for the purposes specified.

4. A folding and self-locking leg, in combination with a bed-lounge, the leg consisting of the combination of the fixed base-plate in, having the pins or stops 1 l projecting outwardly therefrom, the slotted leg-extension k, recessed and notched on its under face, as shown, the spring 0, arranged in the slot of part 10, and the pin or rivet n, all adapted for operation together, substantially as and for the purposes specified.

HERMAN RICHTER.

Witnesses:

F. F. WARNER, J. H. LAWLOR. 

